For years, my hatred of waiting in lines has outweighed my love of ramen, keeping me from dining at Kodawari Ramen. Until now. A bustling success since it opened in 2016, this restaurant is the brainchild of former fighter pilot Jean-Baptiste Meusnier who fell in love with top-quality ramen in Japan and brought it here, to Paris’ Saint-Germain. It’s as renowned for the quality of its cuisine as for its lines.
But don’t worry.
There are a lot of ways to get around the legendary queues. There’s a digital line, which you can join by doing a driveby and scanning the QR code, holing up in a café or bar until your name is called. But I opted instead to get there stupid early on a weekday, a choice afforded by the fact that this spot is open en continu from 11:45am.
Even at 4pm, there was a bit of a line out front, but on a Wednesday at 6:45pm, there was more than enough choice of seats (we opted for the bar, to watch the chefs at work). And despite the popularity of this spot, the staff here is relaxed enough, before the dinner rush, to say absolutely nothing should you decide to order a Kirin (on draught), peruse the short-and-sweet menu, and soak up the total trip of an ambiance, decked out to resemble Japan’s yokocho, or food streets, complete with paper lanterns, a wooden cart perfect for seating two, and Tokyo manhole covers on the floor.
Six different noodle bowls are on offer, each of which can be jazzed up “chef’s style” with suggested accoutrements like tomato, spicy sauce, or house-marinated eggs. I hesitated before finally capitulating and ordering the Kurogoma ramen (15.50) everyone’s been talking about, the house-made noodles sitting in a rich chicken broth made with Loiret poultry and topped with a black-as-night sesame sauce. A slice of pata negra pork was accompanied by the marinated egg I added for 2.50.
I can see why this ramen is so popular: It’s richly flavorful with a nutty, almost smoky aroma. The mizuna on top lent a touch of freshness and an almost spinachy vegetal quality to the dish, which was further brightened by the addition of thinly sliced green onions.
I’ll admit I remain intrigued by the simpler offerings like the shio or shoyu, which might let the top-quality chicken broth speak a bit more. Maybe next time.
The seasonal vegetarian ramen (16) was perhaps even more intriguing, with a thick pea, mushroom, and kombu broth caressing the noodles. It was topped with koji-marinated grilled white asparagus, fresh red onion, sautéed shiitake mushrooms with kombu and miso, burnt garlic oil, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. A bit of olive oil-roasted tomato (1.50) adds even more umami to the dish… not that it needs it. While I loved mine, this one was my last bite of the evening.
A kimchi appetizer (4.5o) was perfectly serviceable, if a bit salty. Next time, I’ll skip it and go straight for the noods.
And you can bet there will be a next time.
Kodawari Ramen – 29, rue Mazarine, 75006